Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(and alfresco diners in summer). The hidden
Lurie Garden
blooms with prairie flowers
and tranquility. The Gehry-designed
BP Bridge
spans Columbus Dr and offers great sky-
line views. And the
Nichols Bridgeway
arches from the park up to the Art Institute's
3rd-floor contemporary sculpture garden (free to view).
The pavilion concerts take place at lunchtime and at 6:30pm most nights. For the lat-
ter, bring a picnic and bottle of wine and tune in to indie rock and new music on
Mondays, jazz and world music on Thursdays, and classical music on most other days.
Each Saturday free exercise classes (yoga at 8am, Pilates at 9am and dance at 10am) take
place on the Great Lawn. And the Family Fun Tent provides free kids' activities daily
between 10am and 3pm. Free walking tours take place daily at 11:30am and 1pm; depar-
ture is from the Chicago Cultural Center Visitors Center, across the street from the park.
Art Institute of Chicago
MUSEUM
( 312-443-3600;
www.artic.edu
; 111 S Michigan Ave; adult/child $23/free; 10:30am-5pm, to
8pm Thu; )
The second-largest art museum in the country. The collection of impres-
sionist and post-impressionist paintings is second only to those in France, and the num-
ber of surrealist works is tremendous. Download the free app for DIY tours. It offers 50
jaunts, everything from highlights (Grant Wood's
American Gothic
, Edward Hopper's
Nighthawks
) to a 'birthday-suit tour' of naked works.
Allow two hours to browse the museum's must-sees; art buffs should allocate much
longer. The main entrance is on Michigan Ave, but you can also enter via the dazzling
Modern Wing on Monroe St. Note that the 3rd-floor contemporary sculpture garden in
this wing is free to peruse and provides sweet city views. You can reach it via the mod,
pedestrian-only Nichols Bridgeway that connects to Millennium Park.
Willis Tower
TOWER
( 312-875-9696;
www.the-skydeck.com
; 233 S Wacker Dr; adult/child $18/12; 9am-10pm Apr-
Sep, 10am-8pm Oct-Mar; Brown, Orange, Purple, Pink Line to Quincy)
It's Chicago's tallest
building, and the 103rd-floor Skydeck puts you 1454ft up into the heavens. Take the ear-
popping 70-second elevator ride to the top, then step onto one of the glass-floored ledges
jutting out in midair for a knee-buckling perspective straight down. The entrance is on
Jackson Blvd.
Queues can be up to an hour on busy days (peak times are in summer, between 11am
and 4pm Friday through Sunday). A bit of history: it was the Sears Tower until insurance
